Archive for February, 2011

These twelve logos have been created by nine students and one graduate of West Liberty University. The logos were designed to possibly represent the upcoming Wheeling Art Fest. Please take time to look at each logo and make sure you have viewed all twelve. These logo submissions will be discussed at the next meeting of the Wheeling Arts Commission on March 8, 2011.

In 2010 I visited the exhibition Slash: Paper Under the Knife, at the Museum of Art & Design in NYC. The exhibition was wonderful and all the work was…. well, mind blowing! However, it was the work of Romanian artist Andrea Dezsö that really struck a cord with me. Her work contained thirty multi-layered painted and illuminated paper theaters, and she referred to these as “tunnel books”. Ms. Dezsö stated, “cut-paper scenes are arranged in expandable layers, creating a miniature theatre stage for presenting the narratives inside. My tunnel books reveal imagined worlds; scenarios arising from the subconscious, based on my personal experience—physical, psychological, spiritual, and the strange in-betweens; living in my body, in my mind, dreams, memories, and anxieties, hopes, obsessions.” You can see some examples of Ms. Dezsö’s work at at her website!

When I returned home to West Virginia, I thought about introducing these theater-like artworks into one of my future classes at West Liberty University. Tunnel books are made up of a series of paper or cardboard sheets which stand parallel to one another and are viewed from one end. This “tunnel” or “peephole” book with a set of pages bound with accordions on two sides and viewed through a central opening. Openings are cut in all but the last sheet so that the viewer looks through the layers while seeing parts of each of them.

This past weekend I finally got around to creating my first two tunnel books. Book A is done in acrylics on Strathmore bristol; book B is collage on Strathmore bristol. (I plan to try 140# watercolor paper with my next tunnel book.) The photos that follow are not a step-by-step documentation of my procedure, but I did photograph a few of my steps, as well as my final results.

Drawing and cutting.

I began by cutting bristol board into eight 10″x 11″ sheets, four for each book. I believe ﻿Ms. Dezsö’s tunnel books were approximately 8″x 8″. I sketched my design on each sheet, and then cut out the negative space of each of the designs (but not the last page, which remains uncut).

This is page #1 of book A, cut and painted using acrylics.

Page #2 of book A, cut out but painting is unfinished.

Page #3 of book A, cut and painted.

Page #4 of book A, painted. Notice that the last page remains uncut. I eventually added a water tower to this scene.

Once my four pages were completed, I began to create the accordion connectors that would go in between each page.

I attached two accordion pieces to each page of the tunnel book. I made these by cutting 4″x 10″ sheets, folding it, and attaching the 1/2″ folded ends to each page. I used hot glue as a way to save time (I wanted to get these examples done in time for a Monday class), but Elmer’s white glue or an acrylic gel medium would work well.

Starting with the last page, I began attaching the accordion pieces to the left and right edges of the page.

Here is a closer look of one of the accordion connectors.

Here I am adding page #3 to page #4.

Here is the nearly complete tunnel book.

Book A complete!

I decided to make my second tunnel book using a collage approach. I began book B by cutting out a diver from an old swimming suit magazine ad.

Swimmer cut from vintage magazine.

Here is page #2 of book B, pre-cut, edges painted, and awaiting the attachment of the swimmer.

Book B, almost complete.

Book B, collage on bristol board.

I had to experiment with the accordion sections that go between each page. My first accordions were cut from paper that was too light, and unable to keep my book open. I used chip board the second time, but that proved to be too thick and heavy. For my third try, I cut up some old paintings done on 140# watercolor paper, and these seemed to work.

(WLU Crafts class students: these are the tunnel books I presented for discussion this past Monday. I hope to post YOUR results in the next couple weeks.)

I’ve really ignored my blog in recent weeks (months?), and decided I would get back into it by posting some images from a workshop we had this week at West Liberty University. Currently in the Nutting Gallery is the exhibition Incised, Gouged, Pulled: Keith Dull & Amanda Preusser, featuring the work by these two printmakers. Keith, who teaches printmaking at Ashland University, was on campus earlier in the week to give a lecture on his color reduction linocut process, and he did an excellent presentation. Yesterday, Columbus artist and teacher Amanda Preusser, presented a one-day workshop on monotypes and monoprints.

Amanda opened the workshop with a brief Powerpoint presentation to make sure we didn't confuse our monoprints with our monotypes.